In the operation of modern day construction machines, it is becoming increasingly common to incorporate electronic controls into the operation of the machine. One of the advantages gained by utilizing electronic controls is that the control levers may be downsized and the operational effort required to manipulate them is greatly reduced. In addition, it has been known to incorporate some operational indicators utilized in many implement functions into the design of the control lever mounting.
One such example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,892, issued on Jul. 23, 1996 to Dean A. Weichman. In this design, a control lever is positioned between two non-metallic bearing members that are biased for engagement with the control levers. The bearing members have a plurality of grooves and recesses positioned on either side of a central portion that engages the shank of the control lever as it is moved throughout its ranges of movement. While this design has been known to work quite well in most instances, there are applications wherein the movement of the control lever with respect to the bearing member has caused wear of the bearing member to a point wherein the operational indicators, i.e., ramps that have been formed in the bearing members that indicate various phases of operation, have been diminished.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.